ABSTRACT
In this paper, BN-HFACs – the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACs) combined with Bayesian network (BN)– were proposed to analyze the human causation of hazardous chemicals accidents (HCAs). First, the traditional HFACs was revised to correspond to the characteristics of HCAs. Second, the revised HFACs was transformed into the typology of BN. Third, according to the 39 cases of HCAs in China, the original BN was obtained. Finally, failure sensitivity of every node in BN was calculated. The results show that operating errors are directly caused by human factors, while operation violation is directly caused by hazardous material environment, mechanical equipment, and human factors. At the same time, operation errors are also indirectly caused by organizational climate, hidden danger investigations, and organizational processes, while operation violations are indirectly caused by resource management, operation guidance, and planned operation. Furthermore, organizational climate has the greatest impact on unsafe behavior compared with other factors. Policy suggestions and study limitations also are discussed in this paper.
